There is probably no custom maker of military pattern knives more famous than M.H. “Howard” Cole. His fame in the collector community stems not only from his skill as a custom knife maker but also by his exhaustive efforts to document the edged weapons that he loved through his drawings and writings. No serious collector of US military knives does not have Cole’s famous four volume set US Military Knives, Bayonets & Machetes Volumes I-IV in their arms library, or at the very least a copy of the compellation of these books, published as The Best of US Military Knives: Bayonets & Machetes which took most of the important information from the original four volumes and put it all under one cover, with the assistance of edged weapons authority, custom knife maker, and author Michael Silvey. Cole followed up his original works on military knives with The Skinning Knife Book, which he published in 1996.

According to Silvey, Marion Howard Cole (1911-1999) was a Birmingham, AL police officer during World War II and produced custom knives in his spare time for men serving in the armed forces. His premier knife was a large knuckle knife with blades made of spring steel and brass knuckle guards cast by a local foundry. Initially these knives were produced with nine-point knuckle bow, but after fifty to seventy-five of these knives were produced, he redesigned the knife with an eight-point guard. Most of Cole’s WWII era production knives were made without sheaths, but he did acquire some sheaths from Birmingham’s Blackhorse Leather Works at a cost of $0.75 each. According to Silvey, after the company went out of business, Cole acquired some of the firm’s tools so that he could continue to produce sheaths as needed that were of the same style as his World War II scabbards. Cole was more than just a police officer, detective, custom knife maker and author, he was devotee to historical arms of all types and was one of the founding members of the Alabama Gun Collectors Association and served as their president at the end of the 1950s. Cole continued making knives through the early 1990s and died in June of 1999 at the age of 87.

Offered here is one of Cole’s most desirable custom fighting knives, which was formerly in a well-known museum collection. This is one of his massive Bowie-bladed knuckle knives, with the latter day 8-point knuckle bow. According to information from the former owner’s collection this large knuckle knife was one of fourteen of this pattern of knife that were produced by Cole during the 1980s. This particular knife was number 14 of the fourteen and is so marked on the face of the guard.

The knife has a large 9 ¼” long clip point Bowie blade that is 2” wide its widest point and has a ½” choil, where the blade is only 1 35/64” wide. The blade has a long, 4 ½” false edge, is 19/64” wide at the spine and very well made. The knife utilizes full tang construction the tang formed into a skull crusher point that extends ¾” past the pommel. The overall length of the knife is 14 ¾” including the skull cracker. The hilt is 4 ½” in length, not counting the skull cracker and is cast from heavy brass with 8 large cog style projections that are about ½” in length emanating from the heavy knuckle bow. The large grip has an oval cross section and is made in classic theater knife style using a combination of materials. Most of the grip is made from stacked leather washers but also has six aluminum spacers at the front and rear of the grip that, which are separated by four black Bakelite insulation washers. A pair of brown Bakelite washers are present at the front and rear of the grip where it meets the brass guard. The reverse side of that knucklebow is stamped M H COLE. The face of the guard is stamped MHC below the choil and N14 above the spine. The reverse blade is deeply stamped U.S.M.C. At least one other example of the fourteen 1980s knuckle knives were marked in this fashion as well, as I sold that knife a couple of years ago. As I remember it came with a letter from Howard, discussing his desire to make a knife for a Marine Corps member who wanted “USMC” on the blade. Apparently, Howard made another U.S.M.C. marked knife after that original one, and it is offered here. There are no other markings on the knife. The knife is accompanied by an M.H. Cole produced heavy leather sheath made in the style of the large fighting knife and machete sheaths of the 1940s and 1950s. The sheath is 15” in overall length and is made in two primary parts. The 10 ¼” body is made from four thick layers of leather stitched together and is 5/8” thick. The sheath is 3 3/16” wide. A brass washer is in the bottom tip of the sheath with a long latigo leg tie down passing through it. An 8 ¼” long folded leather belt loop is attached to the rear of the scabbard with four rivets and extends 4 ¾” above the body of the sheath, allowing it to be used on a belt of almost any size. The face of the sheath is decorated with a folk-art style American Eagle surmounting a shield and has a banner of seven stars above the eagle, with two large ones on either end and five smaller ones in the center. M.H. COLE is marked on the face of the sheath below the eagle in an outlined box. All of this work was almost certainly done with the old Blackhorse Leather tools that Cole purchased, allowing him to recreate sheaths in the style of their work for him during WWII. As is typical of Cole’s work all of the letters are stamped independently, and no gang stamps were utilized. The collection that this knife came from had it identified as being a 1980s production Cole knife. Some additional information about the provenance for this knife will be shared with the buyer.

The knife remains in VERT FINE overall condition and has never been used but appears to have suffered from minor storage issues at some point in time. The blade retains nearly all of its original bright polish, making it very difficult to photograph. The end result are reflections and artifacts in the photos that make it hard to give an accurate impression of what the blade looks like. Any strange imperfections that may appear on the blade in the photos are probably reflections from the photo studio equipment or the result of the lighting and the highly reflective blade. The knife retains its original edge and is not sharpened. The blade shows some minute freckles of minor surface oxidation on both sides, around the middle of the blade. These freckles of discoloration could probably be carefully cleaned off, but I’m not touching the blade. These freckles are likely the result of the knife being stored in the sheath where some moisture may have been trapped, resulting in the oxidation. The heavy brass guard has dulled and has a rich, deep butterscotch patina. The grip shows some light handling marks. The sheath shows some very light wear from handling and storage as well, but no real use or abuse. There are also a few aeras of minor discoloration, most noticeable on the face of the belt loop near its top, where the guard has rubbed the leather.

Overall, this is an exceptionally attractive, impressively large and wonderful condition example of a Cole-made brass knuckle fighting knife. It will be an outstanding addition to any serious custom knife collection, particularly one that focuses on fighting and theater knives. Adding any MH Cole knife to their collection is often the goal of many serious military knife collectors and the rarity and price of the Cole-made knives often keep the acquisition of such pieces out of reach. With high condition Cole knuckle knives regularly selling in the very highest regions of the four-figure to low five-figure price range, this knife provides an opportunity to acquire a knife from one of the most coveted makers of the modern era at a fair price for one of his impressive knuckle knives.

FHG-3652       Very Attractive Colt Model 1862 Pocket Police Revolver Made in 1863     $1,995

In 1861 Colt introduced two new pocket model revolvers in their more powerful .36 caliber chambering. Until that time, all of Colt’s “Pocket” revolvers had been .31 caliber, or in the case of some of the Root revolver production, .28 caliber. These new pocket revolvers could be considered “scaled up” 1849 Pocket Models or scaled down Belt Pistols (aka “Navy” models), as the guns had features of both their smaller and larger siblings. The two new models were known as the Model 1862 Police and the Model 1862 Pocket Revolver of Navy Caliber. The “Police” model resembled a scaled down, early production Colt Model 1861 New Model Belt (Navy) revolver, built on a Colt Model 1849 Pocket frame. The .36 caliber revolver had a five chambered fluted cylinder and the grip frame and triggerguard were of Colt Pocket size and style. It had a round barrel, a creeping loading lever and was available in 3 ½”, 4 ½”, 5 ½” and 6 ½” barrel lengths. The Pocket Navy was essentially a scaled down Model 1851 Navy built on a Model 1849 Pocket frame, with a .36 caliber, five chambered, rebated round cylinder that was roll engraved with the same “Stagecoach Hold Up” scene used on the Model 1849 Pocket. Like the Police model, it used a pocket-sized frame and triggerguard but had an octagonal barrel and conventional swinging toggle link loading lever like those used on the Model 1849 and Model 1851 revolvers. Like the Police, it was available in four different barrel lengths ranging from 3 ½” to 6 ½”, in 1” increments. The standard finish for both revolvers was blued barrels and cylinders, color casehardened frames and silver-plated brass backstraps, gripstraps and triggerguards. A few of the early production “Police” revolvers were produced with iron grip frames and triggerguards, which were silver plated as well, but these are only found on very low number revolvers from the beginning of production. The early production revolvers will be found with the desirable Hartford barrel address, but the majority of the production carried the typical one-line “New-York U.S. America” barrel address. Although both models are referred to with the model date of 1862, both appear to have gone into production in 1861, and would remain in production until the end of the Colt percussion era in 1873. During that time some 47,000 of both models would be produced, manufactured concurrently, and utilizing the same serial number series, regardless of model. According to Colt researcher and author R.L Wilson, it is believed that about 60% of the total production of the two models was of the 1862 Police pattern, which would be approximately 28,200 guns, produced over about the 13-year production period. Compared to the Colt Pocket, with about 331,000 produced, this makes the 1862 Police a much less common gun, with only one being manufactured for about every eleven Model 1849 Pocket Models. 

The Colt Model 1862 Police Revolver offered here is in NEAR FINE condition. The revolver has a 5 ½” barrel that made it fairly easy to carry and conceal. I have always found the 5 ½” Colt Police revolvers to be the most aesthetically pleasing of all the percussion Colt revolvers. It has the typical fluted cylinder of the 1862 Police model and is serial numbered 23357, placing its production in late 1863. The top of the barrel is marked with the standard single line single line New York address that reads:

ADDRESS COL SAML COLT NEW-YORK U.S. AMERICA

The lower left side of the frame, forward of the cylinder is marked in two lines:

COLTS

PATENT

The left rear web of the triggerguard is marked 36 CAL a marking added to later production the guns to avoid any confusion that might arise and make the user think it was a .31 caliber pocket revolver. The earliest production revolvers had both the serial number and patent information stamped into the cylinder flutes. As this gun is a little bit later production example, only the patent date marking is found in the cylinder flutes. It reads:

PAT. SEPT. 10^TH 1850

The cylinder serial number is stamped on the rear face of the cylinder, rather than in an opposing flute, as found on the earliest production examples of these guns. The matching serial number 23357 appears throughout the revolver and is present on the bottom of the barrel lug, frame, triggerguard, arbor pin, butt and on the wedge. As noted, it is also present on the rear face of cylinder. On the cylinder, wedge and arbor pin only the last four digits of the serial number, 3357 are found. The grip is clearly numbered 3357 as well, in a bold period hand in period ink. The revolver retains much of its original blued finish, probably about 25%+ overall. The barrel retains only some strong traces of its blue, with strongest areas of bright blue found on the protected areas of the barrel and on the barrel web. Much of the loss appears to be from fading, thinning and wear associated with pocket carry and some patches of surface oxidation and minor surface roughness are present on the barrel, particularly on the right side. The barrel also shows some minor impact marks and dings, particularly around the wedge slot on the reverse. The barrel has a mostly attractive plum brown patina that includes faded and dulled blue and flecks of brighter blue mixed into it, with some areas of thinner patina that are a mottled brownish gray color. The cylinder retains about 40%+ of its blued finish, with the strongest areas of bright blue in the cylinder flues. The frame retains about 35%+ of its mottled casehardened coloring, with the colors slightly more prevalent and vibrant on the left side of the frame. Again, the loss is primarily due to fading and dulling, likely from carry and use. The hammer retains only some faded traces of mottled coloring mixed with some freckles of surface oxidation and discoloration. The loading lever has a dulled and muted appearance with only traces of vibrant color on the web area above the pivot screw, with most of the lever having a rich plum brown appearance. The metal of the revolver is mostly smooth with some scattered freckled patches of surface roughness on the barrel as noted and some scattered areas of light pitting here and there, most noticeable on the face of the muzzle. The frame and wedge screws on the left side of the gun mostly retain only traces of blue, with the hammer screw and wedge screw retaining some vibrant color. The brass grip frame and triggerguard retain only the most minor traces of their silver plating. Some of the silver traces are darkly tarnished. The majority of brass has a dull, golden patina. The bore of the revolver is in about VERY GOOD+ condition. It is mostly bright with some scattered oxidation and small areas of scattered pitting with crisp strong rifling along its length. All of the original cones remain in place and show some wear but remain fairly crisp and completely usable. The original safety pins on the rear face of the cylinder are all battered flat, showing only traces of their existence. The revolver is in FINE condition mechanically and times and indexes as it should. The action remains relatively crisp and tight. The one-piece walnut grip is in about FINE condition and is free of any breaks, cracks, or repairs. The grip retains about 75%+ of its original varnish, which shows some thinning, wear, and loss. The most apparent wear and loss is along the sharp edges at the base of the grip, but even this wear is fairly light. The grip does show some lightly scattered small dings, rubs and mars, but nothing indicative of abuse, just some carry, handling, and use. As noted above, the grip is serial numbered to the gun in period ink in the backstrap cut out.

Overall, this is very attractive and desirable example of an mid-Civil War production Colt Model 1862 Police revolver, produced in 1863. The gun shows some wear and finish loss with some scattered oxidation overall from real world use, but still remains very crisp, with very nice grips and is mechanically functional. The 1862 Police is literally ten times less common than the 1849 Pocket and in my opinion is a much more aesthetically pleasing revolver than the 1849 model it was partially derived from. In fact, Colt Model 1862 Police may be the most attractive of the percussion revolvers produced by Colt. Due to their overall production numbers, these guns do not appear on the market with the same frequency as the 1849 Pocket and 1851 Navy. This an extremely nice example of Civil War era .36 Colt Police revolver that will be a good addition to your collection of Colt percussion revolvers or Civil War era handguns.

ON HOLD